I need An Inexpensive Socket 478 Board

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buffdaddy110

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Feb 11, 2006
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I need to replace the motherboard in a friend e-machines computer. He had a socket 478 motherboard for a celeron processor running PC2700 Ram. I only build AMD systems and I'm not familiar with anything pentium. Could someone help with suggestions on an inexpensive solution with on board sound and graphics. On top of all that I don't know which north or southbridge is good.
 
Intel chipsets = most stable.

Is onboard video a MUST? If so, I have no firsthand experience.

But if you can get a cheap video card to put on it, look at the Abit VT7. VIA chipset, but was very stable for the year I had it. It doesn't overclock, because there is no AGP/PCI frequency lock. It's cheap. I upgraded to an AI7 because I wanted to OC, and it's been great too. Not as cheap though.
 
How about Biostar, ECS, or ASRock, cheap and has all features. Also, how about the SIS 964 southbridge?
 
ECS = Shit. Do you have a Fry's nearby? ECS is the board they bundle with their combo's. EVERY time I go in there, 75% of the return line has an ECS board in hand. If you're looking for stability and no problems, stick with an Intel chipset for a better chance of stability. VIA and SiS can be good too, don't doubt that. My VT7 was stable.

I'd go with a more popular brand board, like Abit or Asus and the like. Problems would be better documented, and more than likely easier too fix/troubleshoot.

ASRock is another I'd pick too, they're supposedly good too (never owned one). But made by Asus. From what I've seen (my dad builds rigs on the side), they're mainly Mini-ATX...? Nice small boards with plenty of features. He builds AMD rigs only, so I can't offer any recommendations on an Intel ASRock board.
 
mdameron said:
ECS = Shit. Do you have a Fry's nearby? ECS is the board they bundle with their combo's. EVERY time I go in there, 75% of the return line has an ECS board in hand. If you're looking for stability and no problems, stick with an Intel chipset for a better chance of stability. VIA and SiS can be good too, don't doubt that. My VT7 was stable.

I'd go with a more popular brand board, like Abit or Asus and the like. Problems would be better documented, and more than likely easier too fix/troubleshoot.

ASRock is another I'd pick too, they're supposedly good too (never owned one). But made by Asus. From what I've seen (my dad builds rigs on the side), they're mainly Mini-ATX...? Nice small boards with plenty of features. He builds AMD rigs only, so I can't offer any recommendations on an Intel ASRock board.
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I can't speak on ASRock's Intel offerings, but their AMD motherboards are extremely stable. I've used them extensively when building for friends and family and I swear by them because they've decreased the amount of support calls I get signifigantly. I would imagine their Intel offerings are the same in that regard.

Oh, and they're inexpensive, which is always a plus :)
 
Intel chipsets are DEFINITELY the best for stability. Problem is that S478 boards are becoming short in supply now. I would go for Asus P4P800 or Abit IS7 if you can get your hands on them. Both are stable and fast with good features albeit more expensive than the ECS ones. Extra cash required, but you won't regret it. Installation is a breeze too. Just make sure you install the INF files available from Intel's website after XP and SP2.
 
Intel chipsets are DEFINITELY the best for stability. Problem is that S478 boards are becoming short in supply now. I would go for Asus P4P800 or Abit IS7 if you can get your hands on them. Both are stable and fast with good features albeit more expensive than the cheapo ECS ones. Extra cash required, but you won't regret it. Installation is a breeze too. Just make sure you install the INF files available from Intel's website after XP and SP2.
___________________________________________
#1 (2005) : Athlon64 3000+ (Venice) : ABIT AN8 Ultra (BIOS #18, nForce v6.70) : 1GB Mushkin PC3200 : Galaxy GeForce 6600GT : SoundBlaster X-Fi Extreme : Sony DRU-800A : WD 200GB SATA2 : Thermaltake Shark : Thermaltake TWV 430W : Dell 2005FPW : So far, so good ...
#2 (2003) : P4 2.4B (Northwood) : ABIT BH7 (i845PE) : 1GB Mushkin PC2700 : MSI GeForce4 Ti 4200 : Imation 16x DVDR DL : WD 80GB SATA : Thermaltake 420W : Dell 1704FPT
 
With a celeron, he would be fine with almost any intel chipset that supports s478 and DDR. Chipset is not going to be a bottleneck on an eMachine with a celery, rather the HDD and CPU will be the bottlenecks, so almost any board will do. Too bad I just traded mine or we could have made a deal.

As far as south bridges, there are some obvious differences like SATA support, etc. but if he's not upgrading CPU's, most boards support the basics like USB2.0 and I wouldn't worry about it that much.
 
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